Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [96]
Go around the studio to find the Bright Angel Trailhead; hike about 2 miles down and you can spot ancient petroglyphs on a boulder above the trail, the marks of anonymous Native American hands from thousands of years before the Kolbs showed up.
See what contemporary Native Americans are creating at Hopi House, one of many buildings on the South Rim designed by architect Mary Colter (1869–1958). Inside, find authentic Native American handicrafts for sale, as well as high-quality pawn jewelry if you’re a collector of vintage squash-blossom necklaces or inlaid belt buckles. The building itself was based on traditional Hopi architecture and built from local materials, largely by Hopi workers.
Cross over to El Tovar Lounge, order yourself a prickly-pear margarita to take out to the porch swing and consult The Guide (which you’ll receive upon entering the park) for current sunrise and sunset times. This will help you plan your pre-dawn strategy to snap a gallery-worthy sunrise photo tomorrow morning. Noting your ideal wake-up hour, mosey over to your rim-view cabin at the rustic, Colter-designed Bright Angel Lodge & Cabins and turn in early. Starving artists might find the lodges a bit pricey, in which case Mather Campground is a good, central place to stay. And if you’ve totally blown your budget on a tube of alizarin crimson, there’s free dispersed camping in Kaibab National Forest, just outside the park.
Next morning, stumble bleary-eyed to catch an early Hermits Rest shuttle – or drive yourself if Hermit Rd is open to private vehicles. You’ve got your camera and tripod, as do a hundred other people with the same idea, but carefully hike beyond any parking lot and you’ll find plenty of fine viewpoints. Favorite overlooks for sunrises are Hopi Point and Pima Point, but on Hermit Rd you can’t really go wrong – the light transfiguring the spires and buttes is mystical from any overlook.
Once you’ve caught your shot, ride the Village shuttle over to Canyon Village Marketplace for coffee. It’s a pleasant walk from here to the Shrine of Ages, behind which lies the Grand Canyon Cemetery. You’re here to pay your respects to Gunnar Widforss (1879–1934), the Swedish painter whose meticulously layered watercolors depicted the canyon’s light and details with stunning sensitivity. You’ll also come across the Kolb brothers, who are interred here along with many other of the region’s pioneers. Inspired, head over to the bookstore at Canyon View Information Plaza and peruse the shelves for Widforss prints or discover your new favorite Grand Canyon artist among the posters and books.
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RIVER RETREATS
Most Colorado River outfitters (www.gcroa.org) run specialized trips for painters; contact an outfitter directly to see what they offer. One- or two-day painting trips are sometimes offered through Colorado River Discovery (www.coloradoriverdiscovery.com) in Page
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Time your departure from the park before sunset, following Desert View Dr to find an overlook to your liking. Moran Point and Lipan Point are perennial knockouts, though the former might be a more fitting tribute to Thomas Moran (1837–1926), the British-born painter whose atmospheric landscapes of the American West helped inspire Congress to create the national park system.
Head east out of the park and aim for Cameron. It’ll be dark by now, so you’ll miss the signs saying “Friendly Indians,” then “Turn Around Now” followed by “It’s Not Too Late” in front of the Navajo stands selling juniper-berry-and-bead jewelry during the day. Check in at Cameron Trading Post, complete with hand-carved furniture and views of the Little Colorado River